Forgotten
by ShiraNation
Summary: Emily has suffered a traumatic brain injury, what memmories will she uncover along the way? Will Katie and Naomi be able to support her on the road to recovery?  Promises to be a good read, with frequent updates.
1. Chapter 1: Hold Me Tight

**This story takes place years after everything that happened in the TV show, in other words, it is a continuation (however, not from where the show left off... far later). I think this actually has a lot of potential if it plays out the way I envisioned it in my head. It's one of those stories that came to me when I went to bed and I had no choice but to get my comfy ass up and type it before I forgot it because it inspired me so much… **

**(only change from the show as far as I'm concerned right now, is that Emily NEVER really got on with Jenna, so cut out that scene where all the Fitches are sitting around on the floor eating a pizza like a happy family when they got their house back, if you know what scene I'm talking about. I'm pretty sure it's from Series 4 but not positive.)**

**Basics: Emily has a traumatic brain injury… from there everything changes. **

**(This will not be like the Tony Stonem plot from the TV show; I can assure you the only similarities will likely be obvious ones, like normal symptoms, all for the sake of sticking to reality.…)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own skins, or its characters. All mistakes are my own… and this may cause readers with strong feelings towards red-heads to feel strong sympathy and the uncontrollable desire to make everything all better but ultimately feel helpless. :) On that note… Shall we?**

**Chapter 1: Hold Me Tight**

The red-head opened her eyes, squinting at the immensely bright lights that hung above her. She winced at the instant throbbing in her head, and looked to her left.

"Emily! Fuck! You're awake! Nurse! Can someone help me? Can someone fucking get this girl some meds?" A loud woman was sitting beside the hospital bed, looking down at the red-head with concern, reading the pained expression on the face staring back at her and had called out into the hallway.

A tall woman in a white coat popped through the curtains surrounding the small space, trying to smile when she saw two brown eyes slightly open now looking in her direction. She reached for the arm of the patient and attached the needle inserted in the middle of it, into a new bag that was hanging above her head.

"This should kick in soon and get rid of most of the throbbing."

"Most? You can't get rid of all of it?" The voice had a hint of annoyance in it; she couldn't bear to imagine the pain her sister was likely feeling.

"Unfortunately, until she is fully responsive we cannot give her a higher dose, at her current state it could cause some serious damage if the injuries aren't as bad as they appear to be and result in an overdose. Hopefully, soon she'll be conscious enough to tell us if she needs more, if indeed her pain is as bad as predicted. We've learned that often assumptions aren't helpful when it comes to fragile patients and it's best to wait patiently." The nurse smiled at the other woman with sincerity and sympathy. Sadly, she had seen many similar cases, and knew from work experience it was extremely unlikely this patient would be okay, but she didn't allow herself to be the one to express this knowledge to the other woman.

The nurse left the room, leaving the healthy occupant to watch as the patient drifted back into sleep.

* * *

><p>"<em>Beep. Beep." The red-head inserted her hand in her back pocket and pulled out her touch-phone, swiping her hand over it and bringing it into her ear, answering in a bitter mood.<em>

"_Whose calling, and why?" _

"_You're in a cheerful mood." A sarcastic tone drifted through the earpiece. Although, the individual's voice was __**now**__ unfamiliar to her._

* * *

><p>Beep. Beep. Beep.<p>

The red-head suddenly shot up in her bed, tugging her arms away from the chords connected to them, trying to reach into a back pocket, as much as the casted limbs allowed her to. She started getting frantic when her hands were only slipping down the smooth feeling of the back of her hospital gown and down her legs, unable to locate any pocket.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"There's something in my pocket!" She ignored the surging pain racing up her arms, ribs, legs, and neck that ultimately reached her head with a substantial boom.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Emily, relax. What the fuck are you talking about?" Two hands pushed the patient back into lying down on the bed. The patient struggled to obey and give up her search, and looked at the person pressing her down with absolute fear in her eyes.

"Get it out! Get it out!" she begged and shouted.

"You don't have any pockets so there isn't anything in them, Emily, please, calm down; you're scaring the shit out of me."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The red-head nodded and gave up. Instead of continuing the search, her body started shaking and she gripped the sheets tight over her, squeezing her eyes closed hard.

"FUCK, Emily stop shaking! NURSE? HELP!" She called for the second time, more urgent than the first.

A doctor came rushing in and immediately recognized the situation. He was pulling out a capsule from a nearby cabinet and cracked it over a glass of warm water that had been resting on the bedside table, still haven't uttered a word or sound to the person across the room panicking as equally as the one in the bed.

"She just starting freaking out about a pocket, and I told her she didn't have any, and she just started shaking! Is she okay? What the fuck is happening to her?" She shouted.

The doctor opened the mouth of the shaking girl and poured the water in her mouth, some of it missing because of her trembling and dribbling down her chin onto the sheets. When he was through and decided she had actually drank enough of it to be effective, he put the glass back on the table and looked up to address the only person still panicking.

"She is just in shock; looking in her pockets probably for a phone because she heard beeping coming from the heart monitor; a classic example of a reflexive behavior, it's common for someone in her circumstance to over react about and confuse with other things. The beeping sound must have triggered her reaction and likely over stimulated her, causing her to get frantic when there wasn't really what her brain was telling her there was, to put it as simply as possible in understandable terms." He glanced at the clock that was mounted next to the small box TV sitting on a shelf nailed to the wall.

"In an hour I will have the time to fully discuss with you exactly what you should be expecting and everything you need to know, in my office. Right now, I have another urgent patient I need to attend to. If you have any present concerns feel free to ask one of the nurses." He nodded to her, squeezed her shoulder in assurance, looked back down at the body that was now relaxed and gazing blankly at the ceiling, and walked out the door.

"Emily, are you okay? Do you need more pain-killers?" she gently placed her hand on the one lying limp on the bed, but quickly retracted it when her sister's entire body flinched at the contact. Her sister's face didn't even turn to look at where she had been touched; just flinched and continued gazing at the ceiling.

Sadly giving up on any hopes of communication in the near future, the older sister resumed sitting on the chair next to her. Watching intently and waiting for something good to happen, silently begging that if there was a God out there to make sure that Emily would be alright. That this was all just temporary and everything would soon go back to normal.

* * *

><p>A tall blonde came through the curtains, her blue eyes instantly falling upon the helpless person lying in the bed, and then watched as the brunette made her way towards her and pulled her into a tight hug.<p>

"Katie, I'm so sorry it took me so long, I only just found out a little over an hour ago and tried to get here as soon as possible," the blonde spoke into the ear of the body still tightly holding onto her. "What are the details?"

"I'm so glad you're here. It's terrible seeing her like this on my own. At least you've been here the last four miserable days… This morning they said she opened her eyes for the first time since the accident and decided it was okay to transfer her out of the coma unit and bring her into the central facility so I could be with her. Twice since transferring she has woken up for short periods of time, the first time she woke up from pain but they gave her some meds for most of it and the second time she had a total panic attack… it was awful. I'm so… just so scared for her Naomi."

Naomi could feel the wet tears of Katie's cheek making their way onto her shoulder, and realized her own were falling onto Katie's shoulder. She pulled out of the hug and looked Katie in the eyes, holding her shoulders, trying to emit some comfort through the strong squeeze of her hands.

"At least she's woken up, that's much better than her coma state. Has the doctor said anything?" trying to be positive, she was looking at Katie, and could see how tired she was. They had both been taking shifts the past few days sleeping in the lobby waiting for Emily to come out of her coma and show some signs of recovery. Inevitably, the lack of sleep and stress was only making everything worse and harder to deal with.

Katie glanced at the clock.

"In about fifteen minutes he's supposed to meet with me, you can come too… if you… you know."

Katie would have said Naomi can come too, if she'd like, but there was absolutely nothing going on that there was to like. It was horrible, but ultimately they'd have to face it whether they'd like to or not. Truthfully, Katie knew Naomi wasn't actually family so Naomi wasn't actually required to be here, which was one of the millions of thoughts scaring her at the moment because Naomi was the only other person she wanted with her right now; there was no one else even close to knowing Emily as well or worth letting in… Not only did Naomi want to be at the meeting, but she could see the pleading in Katie's eyes begging for support, and she was highly relieved she wasn't being shut out now that things were getting so serious. Naomi too was terribly frightened, but unlike Katie, it was because she was afraid that she wouldn't even be allowed to see Emily or help because she wasn't family, scared to possibly be locked out of Emily's life forever.

"Of course, Katie." She pulled out some crumpled tissues from her pocket that she had been carrying around the past couple days and handed one to Katie and used one for herself. Katie immediately took it and wiped away her own tears, leaving only the evidence of the redness of her cheeks to testify to the sadness and concern she was feeling on the inside.

Naomi and Katie turned into the hallway to make their way to the doctor's office, after checking that Emily was asleep and didn't look like she'd need anything more from them. (Only once they had already told one of the nearby nurses they were leaving for a little while, and asked her to make sure Emily would be alright without them.) When they got to the elevator both their jaws dropped in shock at the woman who was revealed once the doors opened.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Katie's sadness quickly turned to anger.

"I came here to see my daughter who I was recently informed of being critically ill, same as any mother would do."

The seriousness of her concerned tone was not taken very well by Naomi, who could only scoff at the sudden show of actually caring.

"Jenna, what the fuck do you think makes its okay for you to come here? You haven't been a normal mum to Emily since… ever, so why the fuck are you starting now? If you think just because she may not recollect what a bitch you had been to her in the past so she may not push you away and you can start over, you're wrong. You're so fucking wrong because Katie and I haven't forgotten any of the fucking bullshit you put her through and there is no fucking way we're letting you march your way back into her life like that. She doesn't need her mother coming to her because she's suddenly being kept up at night out of feeling guilty, if it were love maybe, just maybe you would have tried to get here sooner, perhaps right when she fucking got here, not four days later. So you can just fuck off now." Naomi's voice was cold and strong.

"I've always been her mother, and I have always loved her, so if you'll just move out of the way like any normal person with respect would do…" Jenna's eyes narrowed at the two who were blocking her path.

"You aren't on the visiting list, so you can't see her. And don't think you can just walk in regardless of what I say, because I've spoken to the nurses and doctors about you and they are fully aware not to take any of your bullshit." Katie uttered factually, full of confidence knowing that Naomi was fully supportive of her decision to keep Jenna as far as possible for the time being.

Katie walked in the elevator still blocking Jenna, pushed the Main Level button and walked out watching as the doors closed with Jenna still inside dumbfounded and frozen in place.

"Goodbye Jenna. Don't you dare come back unless Naomi, or I fucking say so." Katie said just as the doors slammed shut.

Naomi reached over, hugged Katie, and then waited a minute before pressing the elevator button again.

"Everything's going to be okay, Katie. I think we've done exactly what Emily would want."

Naomi's kind words had the intended effect, removing any unsure feelings Katie was having as well as helping and reassuring herself of the bold choice they had made shortly after Emily was admitted to the hospital, during one of their long discussions trying to pass the time.

* * *

><p>"How can I help you two ladies?" An old lady looked up from her computer behind the reception desk.<p>

"We have a meeting with Dr. Novak." Naomi was able to put up a stronger front than Katie and decided it may be best for her to do most of the talking, the support she felt Katie was looking for right now.

The old lady looked through a notepad on her desk before looking back up at them.

"Names please?"

"Naomi Campbell," and she looked to her side where Katie stood biting her lip, speechless, "And Katie Fitch."

"His office is the third door to the left." She smiled at them with sympathy, hoping it would give them some encouragement for the hard to handle meeting she knew they were off to.

Naomi grabbed Katie's hand, trying to pull her out of her frozen state and knocked on the office door.

"Come in."

Naomi slowly opened the door, peering in to make sure it was the right doctor's office, then taking a seat with Katie on the couch facing his desk.

"You must be Naomi, seems I haven't been in every time you've come to visit thus far from what I hear… you are… Emily's girlfriend, correct?"

Naomi felt the rush of tears starting to well up behind her eyes.

"Yes, she is." Katie spoke for her, and looked at Naomi as if to say the support can go both ways, not just for Katie, herself.

The doctor smiled at Katie and then shuffled some papers around on his desk until he held up a manila folder labeled "Fitch, Emily" on the tab and opened it.

"I'm glad you both can be here for Emily. I have standard way of explaining everything which usually works out best for the people I'm explaining to, however is there anything you feel you must absolutely know right this second?"

They both shook there heads.

"Good, that will make this much easier and smoother for you both. Should you feel shaky or have trouble breathing let me know and I can give you a moment to take it all in, perhaps even continue the meeting at a later time after some rest, alright?"

They both nodded.

"Generally, I start by telling you the information that I have been given regarding the accident and action taken thereafter," he pulled out one of the sheets in the folder and started reading it," Emily Fitch, twenty-two year old student at university, was on the phone with her girlfriend while crossing a road when she was hit by a city bus currently under investigation for speeding and running a red light on a public road. Victim suffered traumatic injuries to the head, a broken right arm, fractured right leg, four broken ribs on her right side, a sprained left leg, severe bruising all over, and likely chronic pain. Ambulances rushed her to our hospital where she remained in a coma in the special care unit for four days, after having emergency surgery to fix some harsher fractures, such as placing a few screws into certain bones in the knee area, and to stitch up the large gashes, as well as close a head wound. The twenty-fourth of May, today, she woke up out of her coma for the first time, was released from the coma unit, and transferred to the rehabilitation facility where she showed common signs of traumatic brain injury upon waking up again. Anything you'd like to add or ask about so far?"

They shook their heads; both were silently crying and holding hands, knuckles white from their tight grip on each other.

He inserted the paper back into the folder then placed his elbows on the desk, clasping his hands and waiting a moment before continuing.

"Fortunately, through my experience I can tell you exactly what to expect as far as most symptoms." He slid a yellow paper covered in small text towards them, but neither of them made any attempt to reach over and take it, "you can read that over later, I will just explain the most common one, the hardest one for the victim's supportive group to grasp, which is usually the amnesia. Until we do a series of tests when we think she is up for it, I cannot tell you the severity of anything, however I will give you an idea of the basic range of possibilities. Her amnesia can be anything from short-term to long-term or both, forgetting names, how to express feelings, motor-skills, recognizing people, common knowledge, how to do everyday things, and more often than not, exactly what happened when the accident occurred. The amnesia itself can be a life-long battle or last only a few days, each individual is different."

"Is there a cure?" Naomi choked out those four-words through her tears.

"At our hospital we offer the finest therapeutic rehabilitation for patients with traumatic brain injuries; speech therapy, physical therapy, cognitive therapy, emotional therapy… therapy for anything necessary for the patient to obtain the maximum potential for resuming living their normal life. Our standard tests will be able to tell us what she will need to recuperate."

"When can she take those tests?" This time it was Katie asking.

"Her physical tests will have to wait until her fractures have mostly healed, however she should likely be able to take the cognitive tests once she can stay awake for a few hours at a time."

They both nodded and took deep breathes, this was a lot to suddenly have to accept with no warning. Not that there was ever a warning for a tragedy so unexpected and life-changing.

"Do you have any idea when she'll be released?"

"It depends on how well she takes to the therapy and how quickly her body heals. Most patients with traumatic brain injuries have to stay here at least a couple months."

Katie took a deep breath and almost passed out; Naomi pulled her into a hug and kept her from doing any such thing. "She's going to get better, Katie." A terrifying thought shot into Katie's mind, and with great fear she pushed herself and asked it.

"Does anyone ever… not get better?"

Dr. Novak took a deep breath through his nose, exhaling through his mouth, and pushed his hand through his hair. He hated answering this question; it always shattered the people who were only brave enough to ask it, but hardly capable of hearing the entire answer. There was no easy way to say the truth, but even white lies were not a choice in his profession.

"Yes. Some don't make it very long after the accident. And then there are some patients that spend the rest of their lives in a special caring center, never to return to how things used to be for them and their loved ones. Unfortunately, those are the patients who generally didn't have any loved ones to look after them and give them the support needed to fully function. We offer the best support we can, but it is impossible give unconditional love to everyone… On a positive note, I can see that Emily will have that necessary support from both of you, and as long as you both stay strong for her it is highly unlikely she will have to be condemned to such a sad fate."

They let out a deep sigh, their hope slightly going up, knowing that they'd both do whatever they could for Emily to make sure nothing bad ever happens to her again. They'd both give an impossibly generous amount of support and unconditional love, as long as it ultimately did no harm.

"I'll be checking on Emily regularly to make sure she is getting progressively better to the best of my abilities. After tonight though, I cannot offer either of you the option to sleep here, but I can assure you there will always be people on all-night shifts to make sure she is okay. During the day, you are fully welcome to keep her company as regularly as you'd like, which I strongly encourage, for her benefit. Still, I can only allow you both to visit as long as I see that Emily isn't being negatively affected by it, and that you as well aren't being negatively affected by it. I can offer you some standard light medicines to help you with the initial stress, and some sleep medication for worry that may be interfering with your sleep. Do either of you have any questions or concerns you'd like me to address?"

"Thank you, Doctor, I think you've covered everything for now." Naomi answered in an unusually quiet and solemn voice.

"Right then. I hope that I will only have to see you two regarding positive updates, from time to time. In the future, if Emily is ready for release I will have another meeting with you on the special needs she may have for being taken care of outside of the facility. Have a good day ladies, I wish you all the best. I'll give you a little bit of time to put yourselves together." His smile was kind and heartfelt, and he left the two of them in peace, swiftly exiting the office shutting the door gently behind him. He knew mentioning the possibility of Emily leaving again would leave them a little more hopeful than not.

They wiped away their tears, and threw away their tissues, gathered their jackets and purses and walked out of his office each with a false front of composure.

"Katie, why don't you go home, take a hot bath, and get some rest. You spent last night here, I can take this one." Naomi offered sensitively, half-smiling.

Katie nodded, giving the taller blonde a hug before looking up at her. The sister felt bad about leaving on the last night anyone could sleep in Emily's room but she was too tired and would be happier knowing that Naomi was rested enough to stay awake in case Emily awoke again. She knew she'd more than likely fall asleep during her entire shift if she had pushed to stay the night. Not only that but she had already seen Emily awake twice, and Naomi hadn't at all, and she was still scared of Naomi leaving her alone to deal with Emily, so she hoped Naomi possibly seeing Emily awake would ensure her not going anywhere. Then again, if Emily had another panic attack that may scare her away, but Katie was too tired to think about that, and pushed the thoughts deep inside of herself so as not to think about them until she had no choice but to confront them.

"I think I want to check on Emily first though. Just so I know she's still okay before I leave."

Naomi tried to smile, only with understanding as they both headed to the elevators to go back up.

**Long chapter eh?**

**I am enjoying writing this story thus far, and have many plans for it in its up-coming chapters. If this gets positive feedback it may even take a front seat to my other story. **

**I really would appreciate any comments/reviews.**

**And of course favoriters/alerters are highly admired as well.**

**Thank you for reading! **

**-ShiraStimulation**


	2. Chapter 2: Worms, Roses and Smiles

**Thanks Muffmuncher for the support through and through.**

**And HUGE thanks to one of my role-models, KeffyRules. (Her amazing story, Ring of Fire is done now, but if you haven't read it, GO NOW. And come back to this later… and if you like smut… Operation Depravity is the choice for you… ) :D**

**Chapter 2: Worms, Roses, and Smiles**

Naomi sat by Emily the entire night, never once allowing herself to fall asleep in the hope she wouldn't miss Emily should she go back to being her normal self or even show signs of coming close…. Nevertheless, Emily didn't wake up for anything other then more medicine before drifting off back to sleep, but Naomi was still happy that she could at least see those beautiful brown eyes she had fallen in love with long ago, even if they were now absent of their usual sparkle.

* * *

><p>Katie arrived early in the morning looking much better than the previous night; perhaps more relaxed if that was even possible under the great stress she was under. Naomi gladly welcomed the hot coffee and container of scrambled eggs Katie had brought her and both silently continued watching Emily together.<p>

"Thanks Katie." Both eyes still fixed on Emily.

"Yeah, sure."

"Not only for the breakfast…"

"Oh."

"For um, letting me stay." Naomi and Katie weakly smiled at each other.

"You look tired Naomi, you want to go home and take a nap? I've gotten as much sleep as I think I'll be able to…" Katie's voice expressed the concern she had also for Naomi, it wasn't as nearly as great as she felt for Emily, but it was enough for Naomi to not feel uncomfortable.

"Yes, maybe a little nap would do me some good; I'll bring us lunch when I come back…" Naomi grabbed her belongings, hugged Katie, watched Emily for a moment sleeping somewhat peacefully, and then left the room.

* * *

><p><em>Emily was getting ready for something, doing her hair and make-up in front of the large mirror she had recently inserted into the bathroom of her new flat. <em>

"_Hurry-up bitch!" a voice shouted from the other room._

"_Don't worry Ems, you don't look too much like Katie anymore, so you won't have to do really anything at all to make yourself the better looking twin." A different, more sincere voice called from somewhere nearby._

_Emily took a good look at herself in the mirror, she was definitely satisfied with the red color she had chosen for her hair. She was sick of being mistaken for Katie in the clubs where men would instantly start grinding up on her when they saw her brunette hair, petite and short frame, while whispering dirty things in her. Katie always ditched them in the crowd when they were dancing, and somehow they always thought they had found her once they spotted Emily._

_She could hear bickering coming from the other room between the two voices from earlier and just smiled knowing two of her favorite people were close by._

* * *

><p>"Emily, do you need more medicine?"<p>

Emily had just woken up again and was trying to rub her eyes, but the cast and bandage wrap on her arms weren't making it very easy.

"Yes."

Katie knew better than to shout into the hallway now, and pressed a button on the wall by the bed. Within a few minutes a nurse came to replace the medicine for Emily and then left.

Unusually, Emily didn't close her eyes and go back to sleep or stare at the ceiling until sleep was too powerful for her to resist. This time she turned her head, slightly wincing at the pain in her neck, the medicine not quite yet kicking in, and looked at the woman sitting next to her who was smiling nervously.

"Emily, are you alright?"

"Yes."

Katie fidgeted. She hadn't planned what to say should Emily seem more conscious than usual, perhaps the basics wouldn't be pushing Emily too much.

"Uhm, Emily can I ask you a question?"

The red-head started to nod, but changed her mind because it hurt too much.

"Yes, you may."

Three-words, that's a really good sign, Katie thought.

"Do you know who I am?" Katie asked quietly, scared but ever hopeful of what Emily may answer.

"You're… ", Emily paused a moment.

Katie's eyes had a shine to them, she reminded herself to keep strong for Emily, absolutely no crying in front of her if she could help it.

Emily turned her head once again; her eyes were met by the reflection coming from the small mirror across the room. In the corner of the mirror she could also see Katie watching her questioningly, curiously. This was the first time since the accident that Emily had seen herself since the accident. From under the bandages wrapping around her head she could make out small amounts of red-hair poking through.

"You're my sister."

She watched as giant smile plastered itself on Katie's face in the reflection before turning to see it directly, the medicine now working and relieving the throbbing in her head and down her body.

"Do you remember my name?"

"No."

Katie's hope had vanished for the most part, but she still tried her hardest to hold on to the smile for Emily's sake. She didn't want to waste this time at all by moping when Emily was the most responsive she's been in days.

"Do you remember very much, Emily?"

"I don't know. No more."

Emily's eyes squeezed shut, the throbbing in her head returned all too quickly, she was very confused because only a minute ago she knew the medicine had kicked in, it shouldn't fade away so quickly.

Katie could read the confusion as well as pain on her sister's face and was able to figure out what was happening.

"I'm making you think too much aren't I, "Katie laughed nervously, "Well my name is Katie, and I love you very much, maybe you should take another nap."

The red-head quietly consented and drifted back to the world of sleep.

Katie pulled out her cell-phone and speed-dialed the number she had frequently been calling lately.

"Yes, everything's alright Naomi.

Slow down Naomi, I can't understand what you're saying….

No, it's just Emily woke up for longer than usual a moment ago.

Yes, I know it's great.

Well… I asked her if she knew who I was… she didn't remember my name but she said she knew I was her sister.

Yeah. Okay, see you soon. Bye."

* * *

><p>Katie had a guilty look on her face when she lifted her face from the table and saw Naomi sitting across from her.<p>

"I just…" she started to explain herself.

"It's okay Katie, it's been a long few days, and I think any rest you manage to get is great."

Katie nodded, still embarrassed.

"Emily is awake."

Katie's cheeks grew even redder at the realization that she didn't check on Emily the first second she woke up.

"God, you're impossible Katie… Don't worry, you haven't missed any discussion, she's been staring at things around the room silently for the past…," Naomi glanced at her watch and raised her eyebrows in surprise, "two hours."

"What, I've been asleep that long?" Katie was shocked at her own loss of self-control.

"Actually, you've been asleep for four hours, I got here at around one… and you both were asleep then so…"

"Fuck sake. I'm a terrible sister."

"No Katie. You're not. Don't you dare say that or even think it. You're a great sister, and you're doing you're best… Now I think the pasta has gotten somewhat cold, but I think you'll still appreciate it more than the food they offer in the cafeteria here."

Katie nodded sheepishly and grabbed a plastic fork and started digging in. The brunette's eyes followed as the blonde stood up and pressed the button for a nurse.

"Yes, can I help you? I see she's not due for more medicine yet…" the nurse said, after taking a look at the charts attached the end of the hospital bed.

"I was wondering if I could offer Emily some of the food I brought…"

The nurse flipped through the charts and then answered Naomi's question.

"Well, I'm not sure if she'll be able to eat it, but you can try and offer her some. I suggest cutting it into short pieces though; pasta isn't exactly the most patient friendly thing to eat." She smiled.

Naomi and Katie both looked rather happy at her words; this was very close to something normal that Emily may be able to do. The blonde gladly cut up the pasta and set it on a tray that folded over the red-head's lap.

"Emily, I've brought you some pasta, are you hungry?"

The red-head looked between the blonde and the plate in front of her.

* * *

><p><em>Emily was walking down the hallways at her college and was trying to make herself small, doing her best to avoid catching anyone's attention.<em>

"_Loser." Someone shoved the red-heads shoulder, almost causing her to drop her books._

"_Fucking cunt lizard bitch." Another person muttered passing her._

_A group of girls in the corner were looking directly at her and laughing loud and obnoxiously._

_Emily tried to ignore everyone, stopped and turned the lock to open her locker. _

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! WHAT THE FUCK?" Emily started jumping around as hundreds of pink slimy worms came sliding out of her locker and onto her feet that were hardly covered at all in flip-flops. She cringed at the feeling as they crawled across her feet, a few getting caught between the bottom of her jeans and ankles. She started shaking maniacally to try and break free of them._

_A crowd gathered around her, laughing harshly at her humiliation. _

_For months, Emily couldn't get rid of the huge fear that there was something slimy crawling over her body. She hated worms, and avoided going in muddy areas whenever it rained, when all the worms were rooted from their homes, shrieking whenever she felt the squishy feeling beneath her feet._

* * *

><p>Emily shrieked and threw the plate of pasta at the wall. Some of it landing on the nurse who was standing at the end of the bed.<p>

"Don't touch me. Slimy things. Don't touch me. Creeping up your skin. Don't touch me. Laughing at you. Don't touch me. Crawling into your pants. Don't touch me. Slowly eating you alive. Don't touch me. Dirty, dirty, dirty. Don't touch me." Emily kept on going on, quietly chanting to herself under the sheets, with her eyes held shut.

Naomi was standing there in shock biting her lip, the nurse was wiping away the spaghetti on her shoulders, and Katie was just staring until she couldn't take it any longer.

"Get her one of those fucking capsules!" She shouted at the nurse.

The nurse didn't hesitate to oblige, knowing what Katie was referring to, she quickly did the same as Katie had remembered Dr. Novak had done the last time Emily had a total panic attack.

Minutes later, Emily was back to relaxing, while Katie, Naomi, and the nurse were picking up the remainders of the flying pasta.

When they were done the nurse looked to them to address them.

"Well, I certainly don't recommend pasta for her… do you have any idea what may have triggered that?"

Katie and Naomi both shrugged.

"Honestly, no fucking clue."

"Hmm… Keep thinking. I'll have a word with the doctor when he comes in later… how long has she been up for?"

"Almost three hours." Naomi answered.

"That's some good news. Really good." On that note, the nurse wrote a few notes on the clipboard on the bed and walked out.

"You really have no fucking clue?" Katie asked, hopeful.

"No, you either?"

"No." The both took deep sighs at the same time, and went back to sitting in the chairs, watching Emily gaze blankly at the ceiling again, not even around the room like before.

* * *

><p><em>One uneventful week later…<em>

"Good morning, ladies." Dr. Novak took a seat behind his desk. He was pleased to see that Naomi and Katie were much more relaxed than the last time they all had to settle in his office.

"Good morning." Naomi anxiously fidgeted with her hands until she finally decided to settle them at her sides.

"Uh, yeah." Katie crossed her legs, and grabbed Naomi's hand between her own. She was unable to get completely comfortable. The memories of the last discussion they had in here were disturbing her ability to focus completely on the here and now.

"I have some pleasant news for you both." He was delighted to see their faces lift in happiness, although he noticed the slight traces of skepticism that he knew would never go away. "Emily has been progressively staying conscious for longer periods at a time, which means that sometime this week we'd like to schedule some of the cognitive tests."

"That's amazing news." Naomi was almost bouncing out of her seat she was so happy.

Katie didn't look as excited. She was certainly unsure of everything more than Naomi was. The first thought that came to her mind when he told them the news, was what if Emily did poorly on the tests? She then remembered the time when she questioned Emily, and it ended up making her sister's head throb.

"Dr. Novak, the last time I tried to carry out a conversation with Emily her head started to throb… are you sure she's going to be able to do the tests without hurting herself?"

"We start out slowly, do the test in intervals, it will probably tire her out, but we progressively increase the amount of work to increase her stamina… she'll probably start with maybe ten questions every day, and work her way up. I can testify that the program has had an outstanding success rate, you should have no worries." He smiled at them.

"I guess that's good."

"I guess that concludes our update." Dr. Novak laughed at his little joke. He always had a habit of trying to lighten the mood whenever he ended his meetings. Unless he was sure the present people were not fond of humor… Those were hard people to deal with and he could only sympathize.

Naomi and Katie said their goodbyes and headed out of his office back to Emily.

"I'm really happy Emily can start getting on with a full recovery." Naomi said cheerfully.

"Yeah. Me, too…" Katie said less than enthusiastically.

"Katie, you heard the Doc, she'll be fine. They'll stop if it makes things worse."

Katie nodded thankfully to Naomi as they were entering the room.

"I'm sorry Naomi, I'm such a downer I guess… I just can't help it."

"It's okay. Trust me I'm not all roses and smiles, I don't like this one bit, but it kind of makes me feel less helpless that at least I can help you through this, because with Emily all we can really do is listen to the Doctor and watch at this point…"

*Ring. Ring*

"Bollocks, one second Naomi." Katie walked into the hallway to avoid disturbing the sleeping red-head.

"Hello Katie."

"Hello, mum." Katie was less then enthusiastic. Her relationship with Jenna wasn't as nearly as bad as the one Emily had with her. However, now that Emily was going through such a trauma Katie couldn't help but shift some of the blame onto her mother who was never really there for Emily as much as for herself. She even felt a little guilty about being treated better than Emily, nevertheless she found it much too easy to translate all her emotions into anger.

"Katie, love, I was thinking, I really want to see Emily."

"Mum, only two people can be on her visitor's list… it's hospital rules for the people in a traumatic condition to avoid overwhelming them…"

"Yes dear, but Naomi isn't really family, I don't think she belongs to be there with Emily."

"Are you fucking serious? Naomi has been there one-hundred percent for Emily for six fucking years. And you were there for hardly any at all, Naomi is more than family to Emily, and she's absolutely more family to Emily than you."

"Six years, huh. Wait…"

"The best fucking six years of Em's life."

"Wait, that means Emily was sneaking around with her when she was sixteen after I told her not to…"

"She only had to _sneak _around because you are a homophobic fucking cow. But that doesn't fucking matter because Naomi was always there for her, and accepted all the things you rejected in Emily and she fucking made Emily a better person, after you fucking wrecked her." Katie took a deep breath and continued, "Listen, I'm not going to fucking have this conversation with you while Emily's stuck on a fucking hospital bed. I don't want you to call me, you are only making things worse. Please just go away for a bit. Inside, I love you, but I can't do this with you, okay?"

"Whatever you say love." Jenna sounded resigned.

"Great. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Katie walked back into the room, the annoyance was written all over her face, and she seemed a million time more tired than she had been prior to exiting the room. Naomi was able to pick up on what had just happened just by looking at her.

"Jenna, ay?"

"How'd you guess?"

"You have that I-Just-Had-A-Fucking-Chat-With-Jenna look."

"Hmmph."

"One of the nurses told me Emily's first cognitive test will take place at ten a.m. tomorrow. She said the therapist likes to start them privately unless the patient asks for company so we don't have to be there, but we may want to be around when she's done."

"How long does it take?"

"She said it depends on Emily. So… I figure we'll go to breakfast together to try and take our mind of the nerves and then come here at about ten-thirty. Good?"

"It'll do."

**MUCH LOVE TO THE FAVORITORS/ALERTERS/REVIEWERS/READERS 3**

**Thanks. Hope you enjoyed it. If you review I'll be really motivated to update the next chapter as quickly as possible. (I wont be update Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday I believe because of a holiday…) Perhaps I can try tomorrow if I find the proper motivation. **

**THANKS SO MUCH.**


	3. Chapter 3: Two Blonde's and a Doughnut

**Thanks for the support! :D Special surprise for y'all.**

**Chapter 3: Two Blonde's and a Doughnut**

"Hello Emily." A kind looking young man took a close seat next to the red-head who was sitting up in bed, only managing to do so because the bed was able to electronically change the incline, for patients whose core muscles weren't yet strong enough to hold themselves up.

"Hi. Do I know you?" Emily still seemed tired, but she had been given a nutritional energy boosting supplement to help her stay awake longer. In the past week she didn't talk more than a few words at a time, and never said anything unless she was asked a question or was in pain.

"Maybe you've seen me around, I graduated Roundview, same as you. My name is Maxxie Oliver. I'm twenty-six, I work part time as a dancer, and part time as a therapist. I love cookies, I hate photography… I'm gay so you shouldn't have any concerns about me working with you, let's see… Oh! I'm a sucker for chocolate…"

Maxxie paid very close attention to Emily's reactions as he spoke to see if anything he said sparked any of her interest or triggered something. He smiled genuinely, "You can call me Max for short if you'd like."

Emily sat there before saying half-smiling and bluntly saying one phrase that told him a lot more than he expected to get out of her.

"It's empty inside." Emily lifted her hand that was only wrapped in bandage, as opposed to the one in a plaster cast, and pointed to her head.

Maxxie nodded to show he was listening, and encouraged her to try and explain more if she could, but Emily stopped speaking. He showed no sign of disappointment, only displaying a genuine smile.

"I'm very happy you could tell me that Emily, it's certainly a start. Now, I'm going to show you some cards and I want you to tell me what's on them if you can. And then I'm going to ask you what they remind you of okay?"

Emily nodded.

"But first, I need to do ask you to do two very important things for me. If your head starts to hurt I want you to hold up your hand like this." He rose his hand, and she did the same, testing if she could. He smiled again at her, trying to give her a little pride in herself for being able to do so. Maxxie was very smart and had made that the sign because he observed she was in fact able to lift her hand when she pointed to her head. "Great, and if you start to feel frustrated I want you to say 'I am mad.' Can you do that for me Emily?"

She nodded and moved her lips 'I am mad,' without using her voice to test it out.

"That's fabulous Emily. You're doing wonderfully. Are you ready for the first card?"

She nodded.

He held up the first card and waited patiently, watching as Emily's eyes focused on it.

"It's just a color."

"Perfect! Can you tell me what color it is?"

"Blonde."

"Very close, blonde is more for describing hair though. Do any other words pop up?"

Emily shook her head. He was happy that her lip twitched into a frown for a second. He wrote down on a little notepad he kept in his pocket, '_Shows minor signs of disappointment.' _Good.

"The color very similar to blonde is called yellow." He gave her a moment to process it and store the information somewhere, hopefully grasping it. He then gave her one more minute to see if she was going to use either of the signs he told her to. But fortunately she didn't, so he pulled up the next card.

"It's a doughnut."

"Brilliant Emily! Does it remind you of anything?"

"Thomas used to buy doughnuts."

"Who's Thomas?"

Emily put her pointer finger up. Maxxie watched with a questioning look.

"What does that mean Emily?" nodding with his head towards her gesture.

"It means I don't know."

"Okay. That was a good idea. Good thinking Emily." He took another note, '_Creates own meaningful signs, and can explain it."_

"So you don't know who Thomas is?"

She shook her head. _'Doughnuts – Thomas – Unknown."_

"How about this?"

Emily reached out and grabbed it faster than Maxxie expected her to react. She didn't say anything she just clutched it close to herself between her arms and her chest and started rocking back and forth. Still, Maxxie had enough experience not to flinch at the sudden behavior; he knew exactly how to handle it.

"Emily can you tell me what's on the card?"

The red-hair shook up and down to express 'yes.'

"I want you to try really hard okay? And then we'll call it a day."

"Six."

Maxxie was very happy that she was able to push herself enough to say what he needed to hear. _'Knows the number six. – triggers possessive response.'_

"Emily, I want you to try and tell me why that card is special."

"I don't know." The girl's voice was so quiet Maxxie couldn't hear her.

"Can you repeat that?"

Emily slowly lifted one finger up.

"You don't know if you can repeat it, or you don't know why it's special?"

Emily whispered the word loud enough for him to hear it this time.

"Special."

"Thank you for telling me that Emily. You've done extremely well today. Certainly better that I had hoped. Would you like me to be the one to help you next time?"

Emily lifted her pointer finger again.

"Fair enough. Emily, I'd like it if you kept that card and tried to think about it okay? Maybe it'll help us remember something important about you…"

The red-head relaxed a little, knowing that the man was going to let her keep it.

"It was a pleasure Emily, I'll see if I can come and visit you again." The blonde with shaggy hair exited the room with his notepad and flashcards and almost stumbled into two others about to walk in.

"Hello, I'm Maxxie Oliver, the therapist." He reached out his hand which was accepted by the taller woman who was as equally blonde as him.

"By the looks of it, I'm guessing you're her twin." He looked at the brunette standing by the other woman's side.

"It's good you can tell. Means her cuts are healing up nicely…" Katie smiled at the thought.

"But you, I'm afraid I can't guess…" he turned his attention back to the blonde who shook his hand.

"I'm Naomi Ca-…. Naomi." She cut herself off. She felt telling her full name the first time she met someone wasn't always worth the laugh she'd get in response.

"Mind if I ask your relation?"

"Not at all, I was…I…I'm her girlfriend." Honestly, Naomi did have a hard time saying it these days, because she didn't even know if Emily remembered her.

"Fuck sake Naomi, you _ARE _her girlfriend. You've been there for her for six fucking years, I think that fucking qualifies you…" Katie pushed.

Maxxie's eyes lit up and he suddenly stood taller than before.

Naomi and Katie both shared the same expression of confusion.

"Are you a fucking homophobe or something?" Katie took his sudden change in manner wrong.

"No, no," he laughed lightly, "I'm definitely not, I'm a member of the gay tribe myself…" He laughed again at his own awkward wording.

Katie blushed.

"So what is it then, tribe boy?" Naomi could tell the guy was older, not by much, but his shaggy hair made him appeal more relaxed, so she felt a bit of friendly banter wouldn't do any harm. Especially if it brought another blush to Katie's face.

"Two things, that I think you'll be very flattered by, Miss uh…?"

"Just Naomi." Naomi wanted him to just get to the fucking point, she'd rather be checking on Emily than making small talk.

"Right, well during my session with her there were two instances where I think her thought process was involved with you. Firstly, you're blonde hair explains why she would mistake the words yellow and blonde, blonde of course having a more dominant nature in her mind… And as for the other, well her sister explained that one for me already."

Once again they both were confused. But Naomi's eyes were definitely revealing a happier feeling.

"I think if you can get Emily to show you the card she's keeping then you'll understand. You'll probably be much more delighted to have Emily show you the news than have me tell it to you. Although, professionally, I do have one strong request. Once you figure out the explanation, I'd highly appreciate if you didn't tell her, I'd like to see if Emily can pull some of the answers from her own knowledge between now and the next time I see her."

"Um, sure, yeah."

"Of course, if it helps Emily. When are you seeing her next?"

"Same time tomorrow if she has no other plans."

"I don't think she's going anywhere…" Katie mumbled.

"I meant regarding if Dr. Novak didn't have a check up or a different kind of therapy session planned." He smiled, trying to hold a laugh in from Katie's comment.

The blush crept back up Katie's neck and cheeks.

Naomi just put her arm around Katie's shoulder and thanked Maxxie again.

"Great. Thank you Maxxie!"

"Sure thing, have a good one!"

Maxxie brushed past them and made his way towards the reception desk while Katie and Naomi entered the room to quite a sight.

**Itty-bitty lame cliffhanger. :P But I wanted to give you at least one more chapter for now, even if it was shorter than the usual. **

**Anywho, I hope this little therapy session wasn't too boring.**

**Ten points to ya if you know why the card was special… I think I made it pretty obvious… **

**I thought Maxxie would fit the part because he's so sincere and genuine. And gay, so he won't be hitting on our lovely Emily. (None of the girls from the show matched what I wanted real well.)**

**FEEDBACK is entirely appreciated, and motivational. :)**

**THANKS! **


	4. Chapter 4: Wankshot

**KARMA IS A BITCH. (That is first and foremost on my mind.)**

**HEADS UP: I'm really pissed, accidentally hit "Don't Save" so this is the second time I'm writing this. Maybe I can make it better than it was before, but I'm still really fucking annoyed. Hate it when that happens. (Guess you can call that karma, not allowed to be typing this right now, and I'm doing it anyway, so it gets fucking deleted by accident and I have to start over. What fucking luck…) **

**Moving on… what I wrote on the original was such:**

**I hope you guys don't get pissed at me for making this happen, however, I promise there are better times up ahead… Besides just because she dies, there is still Naomi… NONONONONO. I was joking, nobody dying today... :D JUST A JOKE. FOR THE LOVELY PEOPLE WHO READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES. ;)**

**But yeah, this is a rough chapter, even though no one is dying…. Enjoy :D**

Chapter 4: Wankshot

"Where the fuck is Emily?" Katie started hyperventilating between each word as we stepped into the room. She was freaking out, but it was as if she wasn't even in the room with Naomi; the thoughts in her head were going a million miles per hour screaming at her to run, screaming to her that she doesn't have to deal with this, it isn't her fault this happened to Emily, that she should be able to fucking live her life and move on without having to put herself through this. Nevertheless, she was drawn to the empty hospital bed.

On the bed was a slightly bloody I.V. needle, laying absent of the arm it had been injecting it's fluids into. Naomi picked up the sheets, hoping maybe Emily was just hiding under them, her mind trying to ignore the fact that there was no way Emily could fit between the small space there was in the folds of the sheets and the mattress. A crumpled up ball fell to the ground beneath the overturned table and she reached to pick it up. Blue eyes locked with brown as she bent down, and turned looking under the bed.

"Emily, what are you doing under the bed?" fear was pouring out of her mouth. Scared of this side of Emily, it was never a good sign when Emily did something so strange. She watched Emily's eyes flick to the paper ball between them and went to grab it. Naomi felt the cold small hand wrap around hers, in attempt to get it first. Naomi would have given it to the red-head but she wanted answers so badly, why was this paper crumpled, why didn't Emily want her to see it. She started unfolding it, aware of the brown eyes boring into her skull. Her own eyes went wide when she saw a giant and bold number 'six' on the paper. _'Does she remember our six years together, that it was our sixth anniversary? Is that what this means?' _Naomi dropped the ball in shock and looked into her lover's eyes.

"Go away." Whispered the husky voice.

Naomi's eyes went even wider, and her breath got stuck in her throat. Those were two words that Emily could say to kill her without using an actual physical weapon. All Naomi could manage was the small and very simple question.

"What?" The shock was clear in her voice.

Katie now realized Naomi hadn't just dropped something and was sitting on the floor for no reason. She quickly rushed to the floor beside her and gasped when she saw Emily, her arm bleeding from removing the I.V. from herself. Katie looked between her sister and the blonde and had no idea what she should do.

The blue eyes were locked intensely with brown.

"It's all your fault." The husky voice said louder this time, she seemed absolutely aware of the full impact and meaning of what she was saying.

Katie started babbling incessantly trying to calm Emily down, and get her out from beneath the bed. Naomi's mind drifted from her body, she would have passed out if she wasn't being carried by her running feet at a significant speed. She raced out of the room, ignoring the shouting behind her, down the steps, no time for the elevator, out the back entrance and into an alley.

She held herself up, arms stretched against the alley wall. It was no good though; her body was shaking way too violently for her to even fight what was inevitably going to happen. She collapsed onto the ground, her tears cascading down her cheeks onto her shirt and the hard pavement that was dirtying up her jeans. She couldn't even feel the scratches she got from falling, she just sobbed, gasping for air anytime her crying let up for a second. Her throat was exploding the loud weeping of all the emotions that had been whirling up inside her.

'_It's come true. My greatest fear has finally confronted me, and I have no choice but to leave. I can't even run from it anymore, I can only go because it is exactly what she wants me to do. I've tried to tell myself everything wasn't my fault, day in and day out, but it's exhausting, and now that she's said it to my face I have no choice but to accept it. You can't ignore the words of your lover when they are so helpless and in so much pain. It hurts so much but the way she said it, I can't help but think that she meant it. _

_It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if it had been Katie or Jenna who told me to leave, I could still fight to stay if it were either of them. But if Emily doesn't want me then I cannot do anything but listen. I have no choice in the matter. Even the doctor will keep me away. After this, he'll think I've made Emily crazy, that I'm a liability to her recovery. I guess I fucking am. She said it's all my fault. It must be.'_

"Naomi, is that you?"

A man down the alley started to approach the shaking figure. As he got closer he realized she was in no state to respond. Two strong hands lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the alley and into his car. Gently buckling her and kissing the top of her head before shutting the door and getting in the drivers seat. They sat, the only sound between them were the sniffles and cries of the blonde as they made their way to the destination.

When they got there, he climbed out of his seat and grabbed two blankets from the trunk before walking around and unbuckling the girl and lifting her again. Naomi didn't like being treated like so very much but she had great trust in the person she was with and let him do so. She relaxed slightly when she realized they were at her old house, but she stiffened at the thought Emily wouldn't be coming there with her again. The man sensed her uneasiness and held her tighter and turned away from the house she moved out of years ago to get a flat with Emily, now only lived in by her mother and Keiran, and crossed the street to the large and empty of people, grass park. He expertly set down one of the blankets and placed her gently atop of it before settling beside her and putting the second one on top of them.

"Dun worry babes, the cookie munster is gunno make everything all better." He smiled at her.

She smiled weakly to let him know that she appreciated his effort to make her feel better. But despite his attempts the thoughts came back to her and sent her into another crying spree.

'_Emily will never be able to comfort me and snuggle me again. And I won't even be able to do it for her, even if I promise to expect nothing in return.'_

Cook could sense this pain was much deeper than any of the pain he felt had experienced. He had only heard about what happened a day ago and got here as soon as he could. He knew Naomi would need someone to fall back on when Emily couldn't support her. And Naomi was definitely hard to get through to; he didn't think Naomi would pour her out to Katie. He knew all too well that Naomi wouldn't want to burden Katie even more with her own stress when Katie is going through the same pain as her with Emily, Naomi even felt perhaps Katie was in even more pain than her. He gently pushed her head so that she was lying on his chest, and could help slow down and even her breathing. It took a good hour at least, but it was effective enough for the time being.

"C—Cook. H—ow did you kn—ow to come?" She still wasn't perfect, but he continued stroking her hair lovingly and covered her with his jacket when he saw her shiver. The breeze was getting stronger and the blanket wasn't enough. She smiled weakly again, to show some sign of thanks, and looked at him waiting for an answer.

"You know, my li'l bro, Emily's li'l bro, they talk. I happened to come up in one of their li'l plans and found out about it…"

He squeezed her shoulder.

"I'm here for you Naomikins…"

There was a brief pause where they enjoyed the silence and just sat, watching the wind blow the trees and swings on the playground.

"You know, sometimes you got to let that mind of yours stop splashing about and just let yourself drown. Gotta let someone save you…. To get back again"

Naomi's smile was a bit stronger at his random moment of wisdom. It reminded her of the last time she and Cook were sitting in this very place having a very similar conversation, when she was seventeen. It wasn't the fondest of memories thinking about the reason they were upset that time, _'fucking Sophia',_ she winced at the thought, but it was nice just sitting with Cook, just being.

"Cook, what if there is no one to save me anymore…"

"Ah, babes, Emily may not be able to save you, but you know… you always uh… have the cookie munster… I'll be your lifeguard…" He said with a cheeky wink. Naomi knew not to be offended; this was just James Cook's way of sharing his vast knowledge of life. It's all just one-big pot of love to him; we're just the millions of pick-up lines waiting for a chance to be heard or salvaged out of some ancient ruin… as he would brilliantly put it.

"I'm scared Cook…"

"Dun worry about Emily, she'll come around… she's just got to learn to swim to the deep-end. She's knows how to swim, but she's afraid cause you can't see through the darkness of the deep-end when you're standing in the shallow end."

"You really stick to your fucking comparisons of life don'tchu Cook?" Naomi laid her head down onto Cook's lap, snuggling into his warmth.

"Didn't I tell you I was clever once?" The blonde could tell he was wiggling his eyebrows without even looking at his face.

"No Cook, you told me _I _was clever…" The blue eyes rolled back followed by a deep sigh from the girl's mouth.

"Just let yourself be taught for once babes. You got to heal yourself before you can expect yourself to heal other's without getting hurt. I'll be your doctor, Naomikins."

"Cook, shut the fuck up." Naomi laughed.

"Wait one more," he made his voice extra serious, "You just burn kid, you just burn. And then call me the fucking fireman."

"Oh god." It wasn't long before they both went back to the silence, relaxing, when Naomi fell asleep.

The two sturdy hands picked her head up off her lap and laid her down on the blanket before running back to the house across the street, knocking lightly, hoping for someone to answer, but still nervous. The last time he had been inside was when the cops nearly found him and threw him back in jail. He had made himself disappear after the whole thing with the cops. It was a rush of memories that he had to push away for Naomi now. He was thankful and surprised Naomi didn't have a heart attack or ask questions when he found her. That was the first time since everything with Freddie that she had seen him, it had been six fucking years, and he had missed all his mates very much. He was happy she didn't just flip him off when he found her, even though he knew she was no where near up for doing that.

"What the bloody fuck are you doing here? Came back for your porno's you little tosser?" a scruffy bearded Irishman answered the door, chuckling to himself.

"Already took those out of your desk ages ago Kieran, is it alright if Naomi stays the night?"

"Yeah, she's my fucking daughter, course she can… errr, why isn't she herself asking though?" he had a bit of a worried look spreading across his face.

"She's going through a tough time with Emily, you know?"

Kieran nodded, and Cook continued.

"I came around to see her, and Naomi was a mess, and she's fallen asleep in the park." He pointed behind him.

"Sure thing. I'll tell Gina she's coming. Ginaaaa!"

An older blonde woman came towards the door as Cook turned around picked up the sleeping Naomi wrapped in the blankets and carried her to the door.

"Nice of you to return Cook." Gina flashed cook a smile.

"Yeah, it's been awhile. You want me to put her in her room?"

"That would be wonderful Cook. Are you staying the night?"

"Oh, uh, Naomi and I aren't… she's um… got Emily still, err, ya know?… so I don't think she'd err want that… I mean… uhm, I'm not her uh… type… it's just… we're friends… not with benefits… except that time… but she's clever… so nothing uhm happened… it was once… but never again… err… just… FUCK… I mean not us fucking… not like monkeying kinda fuck… I mean just fuck… like oh fuck, I can't shut up… Fuck sake." he blushed. _'What a fucking JJ moment, Cook. You fucking dick…PULL IT TOGETHER.'_

Kieran and Gina laughed heartily at his awkward spewing before she took away his embarrassment.

"I know dear, I meant the guest bedroom. You could use our shower as well." She smiled, only caringly.

"Oh. Right. That would be nice." He said shyly. _'You're fucking twenty-three. Act like a man, not that fucking seventeen year-old tosser...'_

Gina shot Kieran a knowing glance before telling him to get a towel for Cook. Cook thanked them and brought Naomi to her room, before tucking her in bed, and kissing her on the forehead. He smiled to himself when she scrunched up her nose.

"Even in your sleep you don't want to wiggle waggle with me do ya…" he laughed. "Everything is gunno get better Naoms, the cookie munster is back and he isn't gunno let nobody else fuckin die on his watch." He swallowed away something deep he tried to not think about. It was the real reason he came to find Naomi, but he wasn't ready to tell her or admit to himself what was really bothering him.

He climbed back down the stairs and into the hallway by the bathroom where Kieran was holding a towel out to him.

"You know Cook, my wife is pretty fucking intuitive."

"Big word, mate." Cook was nervous about what he was getting at.

"Well I didn't teach fucking english class so I'm not explaining it, anyway, she wants me to offer you a room in our big and lovely abode, until you get yourself together, as long as you need, we're hardly home and we could use someone around the house, keeping it safe."

"Er, I dun need that… thanks though…" Cook grabbed the towel and started heading towards the shower. Right before he shut the bathroom door he heard one of his biggest secrets shot out into the open.

"Its shit living in a car, Cook, I've had to before and it isn't fucking healthy."

The man now felt like he was a boy, leaning his back against the now shut bathroom door and sliding down. He reached over and turned on the shower as hot as it went, and let the steam from the heated water fill the bathroom as he cried; just like the little Cook he's never been able to move on from.

* * *

><p>Naomi got out of bed and stretched. Looking into her mirror she realized how badly that rest was needed. Her face looked so much more refreshed than it did yesterday, not that she was really feeling any better on the inside… She looked into her old closet and found a skirt and shirt that were decent that she had left behind when she moved, and changed into them. After having a banana from the kitchen and giving her mum a hug and kiss she asked one of the biggest questions floating around her mind all morning since she woke up.<p>

"Where's Cook?"

"He stayed the night, think he's smoking on the porch." Kieran muttered from behind a large open newspaper.

"Thanks." Naomi headed out her front door and was greatly relieved that he hadn't disappeared on her, _again_. Cook could feel her relief radiating off of her.

"Still here babe." He said as he blew out some smoke, playing with the spliff between his fingers.

"Cook, how did you know about Emily… you haven't spoken to any of us in six fucking years… we thought you were in fucking jail or dead or some fucking…I don't know… you just fucking abandoned us." Here we go, Cook thought. He decided to only answer her first question, because really she had asked about four or five and he didn't like any of them, they were extremely complicated and full of reasons that would bring up his hurt…

"The Fitch boy is friends with my l'il bro. Word got to me, so I came. I only actually found out early yesterday morning…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yesterday….<strong>_

_**GORDANMCFUCKU: Wanna hang out tmoro? Found awesome new spot 2 chill other day**_

_**JFITCH1: can't mum wants me home, freaking out**_

_**GORDANMCFUCKU: ? what now ? u ain't wearing lady clothes again r u?**_

_**JFITCH1: FCK U. that was one time. HOLY SHIT FORGOT TO TELL U. EMILY in HOSP**_

_**GORDONMCFUCKU: bollokuwankshite! HOW?**_

_**JFITCH1: She got wankshot by a bus**_

_**COOK-SPLIFFINJR: Shit. Is her face all fucked up?**_

_**JFITCH1: Dunno. Bitch Mum won't let me go C her.**_

_**GORDONMCFUCKU: dayum. U shuld sneak out**_

_**JFITCH1: No car, no $$$ for bus. Cant.**_

_**COOK-SPLIFFINGJR: I could ask Cook to take ya**_

_**JFITCH1: that wuld be fuckin ace**_

_**GORDONMCFUCKU: take pics if she's bloody**_

_**JFITCH1: fuck off she's my sister**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>COOK-SPLIFFINGJR: COOK! I have an adventur for ya!<strong>_

_**COOKIEMUNSTUR: EY mate! Told ya 2 only msg me if emergency, not 4 a fucking advntr**_

_**COOK-SPLIFFINGJR: IT IS . James Fitch needs a ride to the hosp**_

_**COOKIEMUNSTUR: y?**_

_**COOK-SPLIFFINGJR: Ems got wankshot by a bus**_

_**COOKIEMUNSTUR: the fuck does that mean… **_

_**COOK-SPLIFFINGJR: hit. really badly.**_

_**COOKIEMUNSTUR: this isn't funny shit li'l man.**_

_**COOK-SPLIFFING JR: not joke.**_

_**COOKIEMUNSTUR: what hosp**_

_**COOK-SPLIFFINGJR: i think the North End one… u gunno do it?**_

_**COOKIEMUNSTUR: ill go C Emz. mayB take fitch kid l8r… pce. **_

_**COOK-SPLIFFINGJR: HEY! That waznt the deal!**_

_**COOKIEMUNSTUR: was NO deal, go to bed bro, past ur bedtime**_

_**COOK-SPLIFFINGJR: FU**_

_**COOKIEMUNSTUR: thanks for the info. Gnite. Or morn. Wtvr it fukin is.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Well. Thank you for reading this chapter. (by the way it did come out better than I had written it the first time… still… that sucked.)<strong>

**Err, Hope you enjoyed the new addition of Cook to the story… Although I'm still deciding how important I should make his role, I'd promise not to take away really from Emily and Naomi but I think it would give a nice addition to the story…. Lemme know!**

**Furthermore, for those of you reading my other story, I've thought about the "bang" for it over my break and I'm still not positive about it, but I'm going to start writing it tonight and see what happens. I'll probably upload it tomorrow, tonight it you are lucky…**

**ANYWAY. Now for the Thank yous.**

**1 cookie if you read it all, 2 cookies if you alerted it, 3 cookies if you fav'd it, 10 cookies if you reviewed it, and a million cookies if you got someone else to read it. ;]**

**Hell yeah. I own a secret cookie factory in my basement so keep those reviews coming and Ill ship em on over. –Shira**


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